Pizza Casserole

I can't believe November has gone so fast! Friday is my last day at work for maternity leave...52 blissful weeks of not having to get dressed up to go into the office. Jeans and t-shirts, here I come! I still have lots to do before Christmas and baby, but I have been putting it off since I am off work a month early. I want to be sure I have something to fill the days before Christmas.

One of the things I have been doing in the last few weeks is freezing meals for January. This was one I found on Pintrest, it led me to a blog called For Mamas. I made this for dinner last week and froze half of it.

Pizza Casserole.

1 bag egg noodles.
1 large bottle pasta or pizza sauce
3 cups shredded cheese
1+1/2 Lbs ground beef
1 pkg pepperoni.
Optional:
Sausage
Italian seasoning
green peppers, diced
onions, diced.

In large pan, fry ground beef until thoroughly cooked. If using, do the same with the sausage. Cook noodles as per package directions. If desired, mix together onions, green pepper, sausage and ground beef. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of 13X9 pan. Layer as follows:
Half of meat mixture.
Half of  noodles.
Half of remaining meat.
Half of sauce.
Remaining noodles.
Half of cheese,
Remaining meat.
Remaining sauce.
Remaining cheese.
Top with pepperoni slices. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Let cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Yum. The recipe suggested using mozzarella cheese, but I used cheddar because I had a lot from the last time it was on sale. This was a recipe that I had everything in the fridge or freezer for, the only thing I had to buy was the sauce, because I was out, which is very unusual in my house!

I wanted to use up some leftover breakfast sausages that I had in the freezer, so I chopped and fried them into it. I also threw some pepperoni into the mix because I had extra. This was leftover from a pizza we had a few weeks ago.

This is half the layers in the dish. The recipe suggested onions, I think this would be good with green peppers to, but I left both out because I know Mr Man won't eat them.

Layers complete and ready to go into the oven! I meant to sprinkle the Italian seasoning into the sauce, but forgot, so I just sprinkled it on top of it all. It looks delicious even before it is baked.

I thought this was really delicious, a great combination of flavours. He was not wild about all the pepperoni, he said maybe if it was sliced thinner. This is my fault, as I chopped it myself. Next time I might just buy a package of pizza meats, but I will definitely be making it again, as it was quick, cheap and easy. Plus, I still have half of it in the freezer!

I hope everyone is having a great week, and that all is well!

~Natasha.